My New Year’s Resolution Is…

To all rappers and true lovers of Hip-Hop, if you’ve had the privilege of following Buddens, you’ll know that he’s serious.

After one big tune and a poorly received debut on Def Jam, Joe seemed destined to travel the path of the Mike Jones’ and Yung Joc’s of the Rap world: one big single and then a career spent trying to regain that success. However, Joe showed his resilience and integrity and accepted the position he was in. Instead of trying to come back with another Pump It Up, he went left and put out something that HE wanted to put out: the Mood Muzik Mixtape Series. A raw, unrelenting display of pure, unadulterated, good ol’ fashioned Hip-Hop that put Joe amongst the lyrical giants. It brought Joe back into the eye of both the underground and online hip-hop communities and more importantly, shed his ‘Pump It Up’ skin.

Now, I’m not trying to paint him as the savior or anything like that. Joe has his weakness, and it’s one he shares with Jadakiss, Kurupt, Canibus, Ras Kass and Eminem: Excellent rappers who can’t pick beats if their life depended on it. But even still, I’d rather hear a Joe Budden verse on your little brothers Garage Band beat over Mims on a Just Blaze banger.